Our apartment complex just experienced a minor face-lift. A new courtyard recreation area was built this past fall equipped with a covered “game-playing” zone for adults, an essential to all residential blocks. Yet, each time I bring my son outdoors to play during the daytime hours, the table is empty.  

That’s because around the corner, nestled up next to a stack of recyclable cardboard, huddled around a make-shift table (a piece of plywood on top of some stacked cinder blocks), and surrounded by old folks perched on their own versions of chairs, is the official and long-standing chess/poker playing zone.

This particular building’s entrance is right next to what used to be a small variety store long before I moved in eight years ago. I’ve often wondered if it will ever re-open. (How convenient would that be?)

During the mornings, it’s populated by the old ladies who play poker with loud-slapping cards as their butts are perched on cushions they’ve carried under their arms from their personal apartments for the occasion. When they’re finished, they’ll take them back home with them until the next day.

In the afternoon, the men are huddled, serious and scowling over their chess pieces. Even though I hovered there for several minutes, my toddler son curious and staring, they paid us no mind. “They are not easily distracted,” I thought.

The newly built game center so obviously not in use is likely to forever be part of the “kid zone” rather than used by these old "gamers." Clearly they’re loathe to re-locate. They’re cozy in their corner and, to their games, the face-lift was, and is, irrelevant.

I envy their carefree, cardboard-cornered life of leisure.

Photos: Courtesy of Ember Swift

Russian-born artist and illustrator Liubov Vladimirova, of Liuba Draws, has lived in Beijing for over four years. Art has always been a passion, but she made a pragmatic choice to study Chinese. After graduating, she returned to her first love, drawing.

She gets her ideas from her surroundings and mixes Chinese and western culture in original and quirky ways in her illustrations, particularly for her holiday cards. "I would like to see an ice rink in front of the Forbidden City and I imagine a Chinese family eating their traditional Christmas cake using chopsticks," she says. "I think my customers like my products because they are produced in small batches, and everybody doesn’t end up with the same stuff."

Vladimirova’s cards are RMB 20 for one, or RMB 100 for six. She also has originals and prints available ranging from RMB 50-100. Plus iPhone cases featuring her designs for RMB 50 each.

For now her products are only available at markets around town, or by contacting her directly. You can catch Vladimirova tonight, November 19, at Modernista’s Night Market, this Saturday November 21 at WAB Christmas Bazaar, on December 5 at The Bookworm Christmas Bazaar, and December 12 at the Hutong Fayre.

Vladimirova has worked with many local businesses, including designing menus, event posters, and beer signs for Jing A and painting a mural at Kenny’s Burgers. She also is available for commissions for original gifts, business cards, event posters, and more.

Liuba Draws 柳芭插画师
(185 1069 3383, liubadraws@hotmail.com) www.liubadraws.com

Photos: Courtesy of Liuba Draws

So the kids are fed up with studying Chinese and keep begging you for a break. You want them to have fun, but you also hope they actually learn something. What better way to solve this problem than to teach them how to play a Chinese card or board game? We spotlight a series of local games, starting with the classic Dou Dizhu (斗地主). Dou Dizhu, or literally “Struggle Against the Landlord,” is one of the most popular card games in China.

Ages: Approximately 10 and up
Type of game: Card
Number of players: Dou Dizhu is usually played by three people with one pack of cards. 

Basic Rules
Players first shuffle the cards, placing one card face up in the middle of the stack. This will determine who has the choice of becoming the “landlord.” Players then take turns drawing cards from the top of the deck, counter-clockwise, until each person has 17 cards. The player who picked up the face-up card has the choice of becoming the landlord; if he or she chooses to pass, the choice will fall on the next player in counter-clockwise order. If none of the players decide to become the landlord, the cards are re-shuffled. 

When the landlord is decided, he or she picks up three extra cards from the deck and takes the first turn. They have the option of playing one single card or any legal combination of cards. The other players, in counter-clockwise order, must either pass or play a higher combination of the same number and type of cards. There are only two exceptions to this rule: A “nuke” can beat any combination, and a “bomb” can beat any combination except a higher nuke or bomb. The play continues for as many turns as necessary, until two players in a row pass. The played cards are then turned face down and put aside, and the person who played the last card begins again, leading any card or legal combination.

For a detailed chart of card hands, see Dou Dizhu’s Wikipedia page.

Game over: Whoever gets rid of his or her cards first wins. Since the two non-landlords play as a team, they both win if either player runs out of cards. 

For more Chinese games, see our other blog posts about San Guo Sha and Chinese chess.

Photo by BekiPe via Flickr